Page 12 - What Doctors Don't Tell You - AU-NZ (February-March 2020)

UPFRONT
UP FR O

Migraine could One billion people around the world suffer from migraine, making it the third most prevalent illness—
but nobody really knows what causes it.
Weather patterns, bad sleep, hormonal changes, stress, medications and some foods and drinks
be triggered by have all been identified as possible triggers for an attack, but coffee—at least not the first two cups—
isn’t one of them, researchers believe.
third cup of However, three or more cups a day can increase the risk of
a migraine attack, say researchers at the Beth Israel
coffee Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, who
tracked the lifestyle and diets of 98 migraine
sufferers for six weeks and noted what
they had consumed just before a
migraine came on.
Even though all the usual
suspects like alcohol, stress,
menstrual cycles and poor
sleep were monitored, only
coffee—specifically three
or more cups a day—
seemed to be linked to
the onset of an attack.
Those who drank one
or two cups of coffee a
day didn’t seem to suffer
an attack afterwards.
Only people who weren’t
accustomed to drinking coffee
were likely to suffer an attack
after drinking just one cup.
Am J Med, 2019; 132: 984–91

Badsleepmoretodo

winethancoffee

Not sleeping well? It’s more likely down to the glass of wine you had before
o
going to bed than a late-night cup of coffee.
Despite the belief that caffeine keeps us awake, researchers say they
r
couldn’t find any evidence that drinking coffee in the evening is the
culprit. Instead, smoking and wine were more likely to cause aa
sleepless night.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School tracked the
lifestyle and sleeping habits of 785 people for a total of 5,164
days. In particular, they were looking at alcohol and caffeine
consumption and smoking within four hours before bedtime.
People who smoked or drank wine before going to bed were
t
more likely to suffer interrupted sleep, but coffee didn’t have the
same effect.
Of the three, smoking had the most dramatic impact, with
smokers losing around 42 minutes of sleep.
Up to 70 million Americans regularly suffer a disturbed sleeep.
Sleep,2019;pii:zsz136

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